Digital has finally caught up with 35mm film, starting soon Regal and AMC will be upgrading many of there theaters with Sony's new 4k digital cinema projectors. This excites me because now I might be able to watch a crystal clear digital image with out lossing the resolution of 35mm film. I've always stuck out for 35mm film because of it's extra resolution. This is a little late, but I don't think we've had a thread about it yet, so I want to hear what you guys think about it. Cinemark will also be upgrading there theaters with 4k projectors, but they are being provided by Texas Instraments as opposed to Sony.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/tic...&Symbol=US:RGC

http://www.bigscreen.com/journal.php?id=1448

One of the Alamo Drafthouse locations here in Austin has these on all 4 screens. I try to go there every time. Outstanding, flawless presentations. Unfortunately it doesn't improve on the crap movies I saw there - Terminator and Transformers.

The Landmark in Los Angeles has one of these. I've seen two presentations of actual 4K content: The restoration of Dr. Strangelove and Blade Runner: Final Cut. Both looked indistinguishable from film to my eyes. But when I saw 2K contented uprezzed, such as Sunshine, it looked worse than if it were on a native 2K display. So while it's nice that more theaters are getting these, it won't do theater goers much good until the studios begin to provide native 4K files for them to use.

Also the server software that those Sony 4K's use is terrible. Hopefully that won't matter to the average audience member, but it could mean that shows go down more often than on the Dolby 2K units.

Sounds good to me! I usually skip opening weekend of big films nowadays because I hate the crowds. By the time I see something a week or so after it opens, the film is often showing signs of wear. Digital will solve that.

Sony 4K in action:

How do you determine what theater/screens are using these?

Regal is moving faster with the installation than AMC - Ballston Commons Mall and the Majestic in Silver Spring have Sony 4K 3D units - 'Ice Age 3D' looked great.

the big news that Texas Instruments is and will be upgrading 2K DLP units to 4K specs is a big relief for theatres that already made the committment and have older systems.

Hopefully in this case, IMAX-Digital will actually be true 4K/8K instead of the faux 2K/4K it's currently displaying.

Once digital can rival 35mm they can get rid of 35mm IMO. I won't feel like I have to rush out to see a movie the first few days so I can see it without lines, debris, etc.

I'd assume the theaters that take in the most profit will be first on the list. Hope my Regal gets one soon.

whichever format shows Jurassic Park the best is the one i go with.

I've seen 4K (Blade Runner) and it does look very good. I will miss the texture of 35mm and I worry that in the future even repertory theaters will only have digital. I don't want to see a revival of Sunset Blvd or Seven Samurai in digital, it just robs the movie of something.

The bad news is that Regal is charging more for this. I think the theaters are going to use this as an excuse to raise prices. The theater near me that has 4K it's like this:

Adult (Sun - Thur) $11.50
Child ( 3 - 12) $8.75
Senior over 55 $8.75
Student/Military - Must show current ID (Sun - Thur) $10.50
IMAX Adult $16.50
IMAX Child $13.75
IMAX Senior $13.75
Giant Screen - Add $2.00 to normal ticket price.
3D Digital - Add $4.00 to normal ticket price

So 4K costs as much as IMAX. Hopefully that's just because it's 3D, but it's probably not. When 2K came along they didn't try to charge extra.

BTW, just look at these fucking prices. No wonder I never go to the movies. I can buy the DVD for half the price of one ticket. Also that "Giant Screen" is nothing more than a large auditorium with aprox 350 seats. Charging more for a large auditorium. WTF?

They do charge more for 2k. 2k is what almost all digital cinema projectors currently are. It cost $2.50 more for 2k digital projection over 35mm film. But most of those movies are 3D.

It's amazing, there's a local theater near me with a 2K projector and all shows are $7. They manage to make a good profit as well, with reasonably priced concessions.

As someone said earlier... the Alamo Drafthouse Village in Austin just upgraded all their screens to these new 4K units and they are FABULOUS. Great black levels, great contrast, bright picture, and staggering detail. 10x better than film IMHO.

Oh and Alamo Drafthouse didn't raise their prices at all (except on Digital 3D presentations, which is pretty much the industry standard)... so I don't see why Regal/AMC have to. Apparently there's some pretty reasonable incentives for theaters to upgrade from the manufacturers/studios (as these projectors support Digital 3D really REALLY well).

Actually it's a bit of a pain for the Sony 4K's to do 3D. They can do it, but it requires more hardware than the Dolby 2K's.

And raising prices on 2D digital shows is bullshit. Either raise all the prices or none of them.

I agree. I was told by a staff member that there digitla projector cost 30,000 dollars and thats why ticket prices are so high. But, what's stupid is that that theater most likley made enough money on that single screen in it's first month of opening to pay it off. It cost the same to see a 2D movie in digital as it is a 3D movie at my theater.

Also the thought that Regal and/or AMC are footing the entire bill (or even the majority of the bill) for these projectors is laughable.

finally!!! my neighborhood theatre, AMC Mazza got a 4K system on auditorium 2 - it's speculated that auditorium 4 will have a 4K 3D system come mid November.

I've been spoiled with Sony's 4K since 2007 when they opened up a Muvico 3 miles from home. It's hard to bring myself to any other theater; it's that good, and well worth the VIP package prices they offer ($20 which includes free valet and a popcorn). Not to mention no one under 21 admitted no matter what the rating + beer and wine at the seats.

I was hoping someone would've answered this question. I'm curious too how to check which theaters are 4k.

I was very very impressed with the 4K presentation of 'Saw VI' - the image retained the intended grain structure that it was shot in, 35mm, and the boosted resolution brought every little pore in all the actor's faces, on the downside you could really tell the overuse of makeup on people's faces at times. The lossless audio was fantastic and is the system's obvious plus over standard 35mm sound.

The good news is that 4K can often look amazingly good.

The BAD news is that 4K can look just awful . . .

if the bulb has too many hours on it and/or if the color is not set uo properly and/or the projector is not properly maintained.

The bad news for the exhibitor is that the bulbs don't last very long and are expensive -- 800 hours and around $5000 each which is approx five times the cost per hour of a standard xenon projector bulb.

I am not unsympathetic with regard to the higher costs . . . .
and I do understand that new gear takes a while to
worrk out the kinks.

That being said, I want digital projection to be successful
. . . . however, the bottom line must be that it is the responsibility of the exhibitor to deliver accepted industry
standards of picture quality . . . . especially when an they
are charging an admission premium for digital projection.

It also becomes OUR responsibility as film-goers to complain
and ask for refunds if the picture quality is not acceptable.

Alas, just because the 4K projectors are NEW does not mean
they perform perfectly over time.

To wit; REGAL now has three theatres with SONY 4K units installed in my area. When they were first installed [ in July,
August and October ] they looked absolutely wonderful . . .
and I mean jaw droppingly good. . . . and I mean I'm a
guy who shoots film and I was simply blown away.

Alas, when I returned to the 4K theatre in September that had looked so impressive in July with UP-3D and G-FORCE-3D
the image looked just awful . . . CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS-3D was dim, flat, colorless . . . . and I had even seen the 3D trailer for it in that same theatre two months earlier and it had looked great.

In little over two months the projector had gone from great to dreadful . . . and two months would be about 800 hours on the bulb [ 5 shows a day. ]

Boo. Bad REGAL, bad. VERY bad.

Looks like you can't get 800 good hours out of one of those
five thousand dollar bulbs.

. . . or rather you CAN but I'm not going to pay to see it.

So. I would encourage you all to complain if the image doesn't
look good. Yeah, it's a pain in the ass to do it but if
we do it enough times hopefully they'll fix it . . . . plus
they usually give you a refund or a pass which is always a good thing.

I have nicely put the managers of the 4K theatres on notice
that it they don't put in new bulbs for AVATAR they'll
be missing a great opportunity to impress the audience. . . .

. . . . and they'll be pissing off that audience.

Food for thought

-30-

The bulbs used in 2K projectors are generally rated for about 1200 hours. However, I can't speak to their costs. The fact is, all projectors require upkeep to look their best, and at least with digital you don't have to worry about some 16 year old kid who has had 40 minutes of projection training completely mishandling a print. The problem here isn't with 4K, it's with Regal.

Good point. Quite true . . . . sorry if I didn't make that point more clearly.

Yes, 4K is great . . . . and it does appear to require more
attention and more frequent lamp changes to keep it
looking great.

I am optimistic that Regal will learn from this initial
learning curve and do better. . . . as will Sony who bears some of the responsibility for making it's projectors easier and cheaper to maintain.

If not? look for a manager.